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Roy E

Tapering: Pristiq

active

34 posts

Australia

Starting this log from my mid taper point, from 50mg to 20mg, however returning to 30mg now for 90 days

April 15, 2026··
taper update
It's been a difficult journey as my doctor and I were trying to taper two medications at the same time, my main issue was feeling flat, struggling to focus on work and struggling for motivation. The taper on Pristiq was combined with a taper on Seroquel. The Pristiq tapering is being done with time release capsules prepared by a compounding pharmacy. The Seroquel we have decided to hold at 400mg, down from 800mg initially, and focus on the Pristiq now, as it's too hard to know what is causing which withdrawal effects. I felt I was doing ok until about 35mg of Pristiq (started at 50mg), I had a sudden extreme period of tiredness and exhaustion where I couldn't get out of bed. We are unsure if it was the Pristiq taper or the Seroquel taper that caused this, or the combination itself. To counter this, I went onto Modafinil, which helped me continue to stay awake during the day, however this also had what is actually a negative effect, it masked the withdrawal symptoms of Pristiq, to the point where I forgot to take it regularly over the last few months. We did also continue the taper, but increased the speed from 5mg every 2 months to every 1 month. However, I've noticed no improvement in mental clarity or ability to work better over the last 2 months, if anything it's become worse, and I have begun to feel somewhat depressed again also. Because of this, we are trying to go back up to taking 30mg, and holding there for 90 days, along with the 400mg hold of Seroquel also, to stabilise things, before proceeding to try tapering the Pristiq alone from there. I decided it's too difficult to focus on two medications at once, so the 90 day hold, plus going back up from 20mg to 30mg Pristiq, will possibly give me some idea if the exhaustion and inability to focus was caused by the lack of the adrenaline component of Pristiq. If I begin to feel a bit better going back up from 20 to 30mg over 90 days, we can reassess what path to take again that will have the least impact on my ability to work and function.

Roy E’s taper progress

Dose (mg)
Mood (/10)

Pristiq — 30mg — 17 Years — holding | Seroquel — 400mg — 17 Years — holding | Valium — 2mg once or twice a week — 10 years — supporting others | other — Modafinil 200mg — 3 Months — supporting others | with clinician

5 Replies

Catina
CatinaStaff4mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
"It's been a difficult journey as my doctor and I were trying to taper two medications at the same time" — @Roy E
Sorry to hear this. Yes, as I mentioned in your other post it's always best to work with only one drug at a time. Is your doctor experienced with Hyperbolic tapering and withdrawal-related issues? Here is some information about your two drugs: https://taper.community/drugs/pristiq https://taper.community/drugs/seroquel I hope things improve for you soon! Please keep us updated.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

R
Roy E4mo ago
LighthousePristiq · active
@Catina Hi Catina, yeah the doctor is experienced, however as he said, the symptoms of withdrawal can vary a lot between individuals. The issue was a previous doctor had moved me around between 600mg, 400mg and 800mg of Seroquel when I came to him, the 800mg left me fairly exhausted and mentally feeling very unwell, so we decided to add Seroquel to a taper at the same time, even though it's not ideal. Things were going well until Seroquel at 300mg and Pristiq at 35mg, where symptoms of sudden extreme bed ridden exhaustion came on that are relatively hard to explain, reducing Seroquel further didn't help, increasing had some brain fog improvements, while further reduction in Pristiq didn't have benefits, I still need Modafinil to be able to get out of bed for the full day, so due to this I suggested we stick to just 400mg Seroquel longer term, and focus on Pristiq now after setting both at a higher level than before for 60 to 90 days.

Pristiq — 30mg — 17 Years — holding | Seroquel — 400mg — 17 Years — holding | Valium — 2mg once or twice a week — 10 years — supporting others | other — Modafinil 200mg — 3 Months — supporting others | with clinician

Catina
CatinaStaff4mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
"the symptoms of withdrawal can vary a lot between individuals" — @Roy E
So true! It's such a unique experience for each person.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.92 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Levothyroxine - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

Based Psychiatrist
Based PsychiatristStaff4mo ago
Community AnchorEffexor
Yes I agree with Catina, would you like help finding a experienced deprescriber?

Creator of Taper Community, here to help you.

R
Roy E4mo ago
LighthousePristiq · active
@Based Psychiatrist All good I have one already, he is listed on your website :)

Pristiq — 30mg — 17 Years — holding | Seroquel — 400mg — 17 Years — holding | Valium — 2mg once or twice a week — 10 years — supporting others | other — Modafinil 200mg — 3 Months — supporting others | with clinician

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